CEO, Pershing Square Holdings, Inc. Bill Ackerman While Universal Music Group’s (UMG) delisting from Euronext Amsterdam may not come true, the hedge fund king’s push to list UMG on a U.S. exchange will still come to fruition in 2025.
UMG announced on Wednesday (January 15) that Pershing Square and some of its affiliates have requested to be issued and listed on a U.S. stock exchange and exempted from the 120-day filing requirement. According to the company’s statement, UMG “consistent with its contractual obligations” will “use commercially reasonable efforts to initiate an underwritten offering to sell certain shares owned by Pershing before September 15, 2025.” Pershing Square holds a 7.6% stake in UMG, currently valued at $3.48 billion.
“Any actions or decisions by UMG other than those required to comply with its contractual obligations under the Registration Rights Agreement will be determined by UMG’s Board of Directors based on analysis, taking into account what maximizes value and is in the best interest of all participants. Universal Music Group’s shareholders ,” the statement continued.
In November 2024, after a violent attack on Israeli fans in Amsterdam, Ackerman, who is a member of the Universal Music Group board of directors, called for Universal Music Group to delist from Euronext Amsterdam (the exchange has have been trading on this exchange). Pershing Square quickly sought approval to delist its shares from Euronext Amsterdam and received approval on January 2; it will be officially delisted on January 31.
“Leaving a jurisdiction that fails to protect visitors and minorities is both good business and ethical,” Ackerman wrote on The contractual rights for Universal Music Group to list in the United States… and to achieve a U.S. listing of Universal Music Group sometime next year at the latest.”
In response, UMG explained that Pershing Square could use its UMG shares to list in the U.S. but could not impose additional terms. “As disclosed in UMG’s listing prospectus, Pershing has the right to request a U.S. listing, but as part of the listing, the Pershing entities must sell at least $500 million of UMG stock. Pershing does not have any right to request that UMG become U.S.-registered The company may be delisted from Euronext Amsterdam.
Dual listings are not uncommon for public companies. Listing in multiple countries provides companies with the opportunity to reach more investors and hedge against adverse rule changes in any one country. Among music companies, Tencent Music Entertainment has operations in the United States and Hong Kong.
Update: An earlier version of this article incorrectly put Pershing Square’s stake in UMG at 10.25%. After announcing the allocation of UMG shares to Pershing Square’s limited partners on January 2, its UMG shareholding ratio was 7.6%.
